Here is a list of five somewhat
obscure cult biker flicks that you should watch at least once. Most hardcore
cult film fans have probably seen these already. Have you seen them all?
Hell’s Angels ‘69 1969
“This was the RUMBLE that ROCKED
Las Vegas! For a wild, wicked weekend and the deadliest gamble ever dared!” (1) . A pair of brother’s
plans an Ocean’s 11 type heist of
$600,000 from Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas disguised as bikers and using the
Hell’s Angels as a cover for the robbery. They get in good with a chapter of
the Hell’s Angels and convince them to take a trip to Vegas, not knowing of the
brother’s robbery scheme. Can they escape the Angels before they discover their
plan?
It is mostly notable because it
featured actual members of the Oakland chapter of the Hell’s Angels. The
president of the chapter, Ralph “Sonny” Barger, was able to broker a deal for
the group to star in a movie due to the success of Hunter S. Thompson’s book on
the Angels (2) . Thompson
published a book in 1966 that took an up close look at the Hell’s Angels
entitled Hell's Angels: The Strange
and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. The book was
successful and propelled Thompson into the national audience. It also resulted
in a large number of exploitative biker pictures being released during the
1960’s and 1970’s. Barger also negotiated a
deal for the Angels to act as security guards at a Rolling Stones concert
outside of San Francisco where a fan was notoriously stabbed to death by an
Angel member (2) .
The motion picture is somewhat
slow but is still worth watching, getting a glimpse into the world of a real
biker gang and the culture of riding, partying, womanizing, and the fighting
that goes on.
Pink Angels 1972
“Catch the Pink Angels ... if you
can!” (3) . The ultimate genre
bending outlaw biker film, as we watch a group of transvestite bikers make
their way to Los Angeles for a ladies drag cotillion ball. Along the way, they
get into all kinds of mischief.
This is one that could be
considered weird, insulting, hilarious, and possibly factual all at the same
time. The producer said they were attempting to make a motion picture in the cinema
verite style, a documentary style film. And it does play off that way at times,
trying to show how the characters would act in various situations. But it is
rather hilarious and there are tons of funny moments and dialogue in this.
Despite being light on plot it is
amusing and the filmmaking is done rather well for a low budget picture, there
are many good shots of them riding their bikes and various close ups. The
ending is somewhat surprising and shocking compared to the rest of the movie,
ending on a note similar to Easy Rider.
In some ways it is the weird transvestite version of Easy Rider.
Psychomania AKA The
Death Wheelers 1973
“Seven Suicides - and they roared back as The Living Dead” (4) . A motorcycle gang
called the living dead all commit suicide, so that they can return back as one
of the living dead. The film is a rather hilarious combination of motorcycles,
witchcraft, and a splash of 1970’s hippieness.
The plot, script, and acting are nothing to write home
about. The things that are memorable are the motorcycle scenes, the biker’s
look, and the music. There are a decent amount of scenes involving the bikes,
including a decent chase sequence. The bikers have a cool look, with the helmet
and white visor that makes it look like a skull and crossbones. The soundtrack
by John Cameron is pretty excellent, especially the opening title sequence with
the gang riding around a Stonehenge type place. There is also an amusing burial
scene of the gang leader placed in unusual positioning, while a hippie performs
a song. The soundtrack was actually released on CD in 2003 by Trunk records.
If you like biker movies, or drive-in movies, then you
should check this one out
Stone 1974
“Before Mad Max There Was STONE” (5) . This is a low
budget Australian biker movie about a detective that goes undercover in a biker
gang in order to find who has been killing off members of the gang.
The film is known for its use of
Kawasaki Z900’s as the bikes, fantastic location shots, a large funeral
procession, and some very crazy bike stunts. It has one particularly insane bike
stunt that makes you question how the stuntman managed to survive. This features
four actors who would go on to appear in the more widely known Mad Max, which were Vincent Gil, Hugh
Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, and Reg Evans. It also featured almost 400 real bikers
used as extras in the highway funeral procession scene.
The Loveless 1981
“Sworn to Fun...Loyal to
None!!!” (6) . A motorcycle gang
gets into trouble in a small town when it stops to fix a broken down bike,
while on their way to races that are taking place in Daytona. This was the
first writing and directing credit for Kathryn Bigelow, who went on to win two
Oscars for the Hurt Locker and a
nomination for Zero Dark Thirty. It
was also the first major screen credit and role for Willem Dafoe, who stands
out as the rebel biker. It was obvious watching this that he would go on to
become a star and an epic villain in other movies.
The film oozes style and cool,
between the 1950’s era costumes and vehicles to the excellent rockabilly score
from co-star Robert Gordon. The motion picture and “script is a study in
Americana that evokes influences as varied as Walker Evans, Kenneth Anger,
Edward Hopper, and Douglas Sirk. As part of their rigorous preproduction
research, the filmmakers utilized the resources of MoMA’s Film Study
Center (our own Charles Silver is mentioned in the film’s credits). In that way, the
Museum’s relationship with the film began well before it eventually entered our
collection” (7) . The production
shoot took 25 days during the end of September, 1980, in a small town in
Georgia just off of Route 17 (7) .
View my Flipboard Magazine.
Works Cited
Works Cited
1. IMDB. [Online] IMDB, 5 2, 2016. [Cited: 5 2,
2016.] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064415/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1.
2. Thompson, Tony.
Outlaws: One Man's Rise Through the Savage World of Renegade Bikers. London :
Penguin Group, 2011.
3. IMDB. [Online] IMDB,
3 10, 2016. [Cited: 3 10, 2016.]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156894/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1.
4. IMDB. [Online]
IMDB, 2 29, 2016. [Cited: 2 29, 2016.]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067630/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1.
5. IMDB. [Online]
IMDB, 5 2, 2016. [Cited: 5 2, 2016.]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072209/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2.
6. IMDB. [Online]
IMDB, 5 9, 2016. [Cited: 5 9, 2016.]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085872/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4.
7. MOMA. [Online]
MOMA, 5 9, 2016. [Cited: 5 9, 2016.] http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2011/06/07/bringing-the-loveless-to-moma.